Braided sling



April 8, 1947. v, c. PETERSON ET A Q 2,418,524

BRAIDED SLING Filed June 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l WALTER A. LO WEN BY ATTORNEY April 1947- v. c. J. PETERSON ET AL 2,418,524

BRAIDED SLING Filed June 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 N2 SQ/Y7 3; FNC E NT c J PETERSON V WALTER A. LOEWEN INVENTORS Patented Apr. 8, 1947 BRAIDED SLING Vincent C. .i'. Peterson, Forty Fort, and Walter A.

Loewen Wilkes-Barre, Pa., assignors to American Chain & Cable Company, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn, a corporation of New York Application June 5, 1945, Serial No. 597,648

9 Claims.

This invention relates to braided structures, and more particularly to slings, having a braided body portion with eyes formed at the ends to accommodate crane or hoist hooks with which the Slings are used.

One of the purposes of utilizing braid is the prevention of twisting of the sling, such twist, in large sizes of slings, rendering it difficult for the workman to attach the eyes to the hoist hook.

Another purpose of braiding is to enable the manufacture of as flexible structure as possible, for ease in handling.

Prior types of braid, made with the above objects in mind, are usually difficult to fabricate, or entail a large number of splices.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a method of braiding, and a braid, which will tend to prevent twisting of the sling under load.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a braided sling with a minimum of splices.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a braid which can be made by machinery if desired.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a braid which is essentially round in cross-section and has equal flexibility in all directions.

Referring now to the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows an endless rope or strand, drawn as a solid element, folded upon itself to produce four double units or legs;

Fig. 2 shows the positions of the parts after completion of the first step of the braiding operation;

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 show the position of the parts after the second, third, and fourth steps in the braiding operation;

Figs. 6 and 7 show variations in the third and fourth steps;

Fig. 8 shows a completed sling produced according to the methods of Figs. 1 to 5.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of the braid produced by the method illustrated in Figs. 1-5; and

Fig, 10 shows the braid as produced by the method shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

The first step in producing the braid about to be described is the making of an endless rope II], which can be accomplished by splicing or the use of a ferrule II. By rope is meant, in this specification, a strand, rope proper, cable, braid, or even a solid element of suitable flexibility. The usual construction, however, is of wire rope.

The rope is then doubled or coiled to produce four double elements, as shown in Fig, l, and seized at I2. The loops I3, M, I5, and I6 form an eye, and the lower sections are to be braided. For the sake of clearness, the four doubled ropes are shown as spread on four points of the compass, and labeled N, S, E, and W for purposes of this description. The individual ropes are labeled with subscripts 1 and 2.

The braiding operation consists of interchanging N with S, and E with W, alternately, until the required length of braid is produced. 'Two methods of accomplishing this are shown. That shown in Figs. 1 to 5 will be first described.

The first step is to pass the S double element through the N double element, and place the S double element in the position formerlly occupied by the N element, and the N double element where the S double element was. This is shown in Fig. 2.

The second step is passing W through E, interchanging their positions, as shown in Fig. 3. After this, the N double element is passed through the S double element, as shown in Fig. 4, interchanging the positions of the N and S elements. The fourth step is shown in Fig. 5 and consists of passing E through W and moving W to the west position and E to the east position. The parts are all now in the position they occupiedat the start of the braiding operation, the steps of which are repeated until a sufficiency of braid has been produced.

The completed braid has an appearance as shown in Fig. 8, and the seizing at 2| holds it in place. The end eyes can be finished ofi by serving, or attachment of a thimble, or maybe left as separate ropes.

The characteristic appearance of braid pro duced by the described method is that ropes N2 and S2 are helically twined around each other, as are NI and SI, El and WI, E2 and W2. Ropes having the same letter for a name (e. g., NI, N2) pass between the ropes starting at right angles,

at intervals, which constitutes the braiding necessary.

It is important to note that with the braidin carried on as describedi. e., by pairs of ropes connected together, the intertwining of one pair of ropes, as for example NI, SI, is accompanied by an exactly equal and opposite intertwining of the other pair N2 and S2. This automatically introduces what might be termed right and left lays, equal and opposite, and minimizes any tendency of the sling to twist under load.

In Figs. 6 and 7 a variation in method, producing a corresponding variation in braid structure, is shown. This variation consists of always passing one double element of a pair-e. a,

the S and W units-through its opposite double element.

This is illustrated by starting the braid as before, from Figs. 1 to 3. As a third step, the S double element is passed through the N double element, and as a fourth step the W double element is passed through the E double element,

3 these steps being illustrated in-Figs. 6 and '7 re-- spectively', U

A comparison of the two methods of braiding will bring out the distinctive feature of the construction of the form described in connection" with Figs. 6 and 7. This difference is partiou larly evident in Figs. 9 and 10. the N and S ropes do not twine about each other, nor do the E and W ropes. On the contrary, the N ropes are always outside of the S ropes, and the E ropes are similarly always outside of the W ropes. Consequentliy, there'is no twining of the N ropes around the S ropes, nor of the E ropes around the W ropes, which distinguishes the present structure from that of the first described form,

Thus, in Fig. 9'the rope El passes over rope Wl' at the top of the page and passes under rope. WI at the next crossing. This'alternation ip cros'smg is, in effect, a twiningo'f ropeEl around rope'Wl' as' described, and results from manufacture of a braid by the first method. The same is; true or all the other corresponding pairs of ropes in-the braid illustrated in Fig; 9.

v The braid illustrated in Fig. 10 has had members straightened out so that the relationship of the ropes is'niore clearly evident. However, it does i llustrate, even though sem'ewnat diagra'rnmatically, the relationship of the various pa'rts'of the braid as described in connection witnFigs. 6 and'7. For instance, therope E2 is always on topof the rope W2. Directly beloW WZ lies rope W l in those parts o'fthebrai'd' I hich are farthest frorn the centerlineof'thedrawiiig. Below the Wlrope there lies the El rope; The relation of the N and S ropesis quite obvious'from' the figures. Thu any one rope could be" considered as lying substantially in a plane andnierely having asinusoidal path which interlaces it with a pair-oi ropes which lie: in planes 90 from the plane of the first-mentionedrope.

It is to be understood that the iiiethod described does" not require the use or single rope, nor thautilijziation o f doubled legs as" described, although-these eiipedients are very advaiita'g'eous in sling constructions, both from the point of iew of convenience of construction and lack of splies, and that this invention is to be considered' as having the scope of the appended claims, rather" than that of ,theabove illustrative disclosure Went l' The game or training eight ropes which comprises arranging the rope's'i'n' rour airs, each pair occupying the corner of a quadrilateral, ti nispo'singthe pairs of one diagonal; one pair passing between the ropes or theother pair, transposing thepairs of the other" diagonal. one pair passingibetween the ropes of'the' other pair, and repeating until sufficient braid has been formed.

method of braiding eight ropes which comprises arranging the ropes in four pairs; each pair occupying the corner of a quadrilateral, transposingthe pairs of one diagonal; one pair passing between the ropes of the" other pair, transposi'ng the pairs of the otherdiagonal, one

pair passing between th'eropes of the other pair,

In this form,-

pair occupying the corner of a quadrilateral transposing the pairs of one diagonal, one pair passing between the ropes of the other pair, transposing the pairs of the other diagonal, one pair passing between the ropes of the other pair, and repeating until suflicient braid has been formed, the same pair of ropes on each diagonal alwaysp-assing between the ropes of the other pair on that diagonal.

4. The method of braiding an eyed structure which comprises forming four loops of rope and arranging'them on the corners of a quadrilateral, transposing the loops of one diagonal, transposing the loops of the other diagonal, and repeating until sufficient braid is formed, one of each, pair of loops sojtransposed passing between'the ropes of the other loop.

5. The method of: braiding an eyed structure which comprises forming four loopsofrope?and arranging them on the corners of a'quadrilateral, transposing the' loops of one diagonal, transposing the loops of the other diagonal, and re;

peating until sufiicient braid is formed, the loops occupying two adjacent corners befor each transposition passing between the ropes of their diagonally opposite loops.

6. The niethod of braiding an eyed structure which comprises forming four loops of rope' and the ropes of the other 1061) on that diagonal.

7. A braid structure of eight ropes? arrangedin pair's, two pairs in opposed serpentine formation to form a plurality of loops, the other two pairs also in opposed serpentine formation approxi'-' mately at right angles to the first mentioned two pairs and passing through the loops formed by the first-mentioned two pairs.

, 8. A braided structure of eight ropes rranged in pairs, two pairs in opposed serpentine fdr'ina"' tion, one pair thereof passing between the ropes of the other pair thereof, said two pairs defirfi ing a series of loops, the other two pairs in opposed serpentine formation, one pair thereof passing between the ropes of the other pair thereof, the last-mentioned pair's passing through the loops in the first-mentioned two pairs.

9. A braided structure of'eight ropes arranged in pairs, two pairs in opposed serpentine formation, the ropes of one pair thereof passing alternately between and around the ropes" of the other pair thereof, the other two pairs" in opposed serpentine formation, the ropes dfon'e pair thereof passing alternately between and around the ropes of the other pair thereof, the last-mentioned pairs passing through the loops in the first-mentioned two pairs.

\ VINCENT C.- J. PETERSON.

WALTER A. LO'EWEN.

R FERENCES exist The following references are of recordinthe file of this patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number M Name Date 2,359,424 {0y Oct. .3 1944 2,299.568 Dickey Oct. 20 1942 1,901,439 Drew Mar. 14, I933 

